Lola's hips don't lie

just when i think i might get a break from vet expenses...
I made an appt for Fri with my vet so that he can take another look at Lola's hip/leg. I've been reading about hip dysplasia, and I read all about jillh10's experience with her puppy, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's something less severe.
I first noticed it over the summer. I'd take her to run around my parents' huge backyard with their lab, and they would run around for as long as I'd let them. I noticed the day after one of these play dates, that she could barely walk and it seemed like she couldnt use her hind legs. I figured maybe she's overdone it the day before while trying to keep up and I figured that it would pass. and it did. But one day later in the summer it came back, just to a lesser degree.
It's been going on for months now, and I feel like I should have acted sooner. It doesn't seem to effect Lola greatly, but it doesn't go unnoticed either. She still plays often, follows me into every room like she always has, runs up and down the stairs, and jumps on and off the bed like nothing's wrong. but when she naps on the couch for a while, or gets up from laying on the floor, she starts to limp and try not to put any weight on her left leg. It's almost like she's able to walk it off, because she's not limping all the time. It's odd, because the lazier she is, the worse the condition is.
I guess we'll find out Friday...Wish us luck!

Re: Lola's hips don't lie

I certainly hope it is nothing but just being stiff after sleeping. It definitely does not hurt to check, it could be a torn muscle or even some arthritis. Keep us posted and we will be thinking about you and Lola.

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Re: Lola's hips don't lie

We are wishing you and Lola the best!

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. - Anonymous

Re: Lola's hips don't lie

Originally Posted by sowdie

just when i think i might get a break from vet expenses...
I made an appt for Fri with my vet so that he can take another look at Lola's hip/leg. I've been reading about hip dysplasia, and I read all about jillh10's experience with her puppy, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's something less severe.
I first noticed it over the summer. I'd take her to run around my parents' huge backyard with their lab, and they would run around for as long as I'd let them. I noticed the day after one of these play dates, that she could barely walk and it seemed like she couldnt use her hind legs. I figured maybe she's overdone it the day before while trying to keep up and I figured that it would pass. and it did. But one day later in the summer it came back, just to a lesser degree.
It's been going on for months now, and I feel like I should have acted sooner. It doesn't seem to effect Lola greatly, but it doesn't go unnoticed either. She still plays often, follows me into every room like she always has, runs up and down the stairs, and jumps on and off the bed like nothing's wrong. but when she naps on the couch for a while, or gets up from laying on the floor, she starts to limp and try not to put any weight on her left leg. It's almost like she's able to walk it off, because she's not limping all the time. It's odd, because the lazier she is, the worse the condition is.
I guess we'll find out Friday...Wish us luck!

@sowdie Good luck and definitely keep us posted! Even if it is hip issues, it might be something they can treat with some medication. Are you going to an orthopedic specialist or a regular vet? If you're concerned about your dollar going further (and who of us isn't?) if you suspect hip issues, I highly, highly recommend going right to the orthopedic specialist. They are just so much more knowledgeable in dealing with these things than the regular vet.

Either way, we're thinking of you!

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."
Bentley (5.24.04 - 6.26.10) & Linus (1.10.06 - 7.31.13)

Re: Lola's hips don't lie

Thanks everyone!
@jillh10, for the time being, I'm planning on taking her to our vet. He hasn't given me a reason not to trust him to this point. However, if we don't get any answers or results, i'll certainly look into an orthopedic specialist. Thanks again, and I'll keep everybody posted!

Re: Lola's hips don't lie

Originally Posted by sowdie

Thanks everyone!
@jillh10, for the time being, I'm planning on taking her to our vet. He hasn't given me a reason not to trust him to this point. However, if we don't get any answers or results, i'll certainly look into an orthopedic specialist. Thanks again, and I'll keep everybody posted!

It's not so much a matter of trust as much with respect to your regular vet as they do not have the expertise the orthopedic surgeon's have that comes from 4-6 years of additional education that is focused on techniques of taking and reading x rays as well as manipulating the joint and looking for other signs of hip issues. If there is a hip problem, the vet will refer you to an orthopedic surgeon anyway and that's another office visit payment so skipping the vet might just save money since the orthopedic surgeon will most likely be able to give you a definitive diagnosis.

I say this because, in Truman's case, I spent a bunch of money on going to the regular vet and a second opinion at another regular vet (one of which recommended we put Truman down) and ended up spending $1000 before we got a definitive diagnosis about what was going on. This was, in part, due to his young age but also due to the regular vet's inability to diagnose Truman or, more importantly, provide any solutions other than to put him down.

One more thing, the one sure fire way to diagnose hip dyplasia and to determine the severity is an x ray. The x ray must be taken correctly too - incorrect positioning makes every dog look like they have a problem - so be sure, wherever you go, they are experienced in taking x rays to diagnose hip problems!

Anyway, I just want to give you as much information about my experience as possible because I think I spent more money than I had to and it was a tough time and I know what you're going through even contemplating a hip dyplasia diagnosis.

Thinking of you guys!

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."
Bentley (5.24.04 - 6.26.10) & Linus (1.10.06 - 7.31.13)

Re: Lola's hips don't lie

So Lola had her vet appt on Friday....we went in expecting the worst and hoping for the best, and i think we ended up somewhere in between. We brought her in to pick up meds for an ear infection and to try and figure out why she has been limping recently. the vet did some mobility tests on her left leg. He was moving it all around to see if there was any cracking and to see what kind of movements appeared to be painful. There was no cracking sound and none of the movements seem to bother her. The she went in for x-rays and we learned two things from them. Lola does have a very mild hip dysplasia, but our vet is sure that it's not what's bothering her. Based on her symptoms and her x-rays, he thinks that she has cruciate ligament damage. the x-rays show fluid in her left knee and also a minor arthritic change. He also said it's impossible to say for certain that it's cruciate ligament damage based solely on the x-rays, but between the fluid and the arthritic change, that's the most likely scenario. As I've said before, Lola runs around and plays often, jumps on and off our bed, and runs up and down stairs like it's nothing. It's only when she's been lying down for a while that we notice a limp, and even then, it's usually unnoticeable after she walks it off a bit.
While surgery is by no means out of the question at this point, we started her on a joint supplement called Cosequin. If we see no results, it sounds like the next step is to either send her x-rays to an orthopedic specialist, or bring her in to be seen by one. We're keeping our fingers crossed! Thanks for all the well wishes!

Re: Lola's hips don't lie

Originally Posted by sowdie

So Lola had her vet appt on Friday....we went in expecting the worst and hoping for the best, and i think we ended up somewhere in between. We brought her in to pick up meds for an ear infection and to try and figure out why she has been limping recently. the vet did some mobility tests on her left leg. He was moving it all around to see if there was any cracking and to see what kind of movements appeared to be painful. There was no cracking sound and none of the movements seem to bother her. The she went in for x-rays and we learned two things from them. Lola does have a very mild hip dysplasia, but our vet is sure that it's not what's bothering her. Based on her symptoms and her x-rays, he thinks that she has cruciate ligament damage. the x-rays show fluid in her left knee and also a minor arthritic change. He also said it's impossible to say for certain that it's cruciate ligament damage based solely on the x-rays, but between the fluid and the arthritic change, that's the most likely scenario. As I've said before, Lola runs around and plays often, jumps on and off our bed, and runs up and down stairs like it's nothing. It's only when she's been lying down for a while that we notice a limp, and even then, it's usually unnoticeable after she walks it off a bit.
While surgery is by no means out of the question at this point, we started her on a joint supplement called Cosequin. If we see no results, it sounds like the next step is to either send her x-rays to an orthopedic specialist, or bring her in to be seen by one. We're keeping our fingers crossed! Thanks for all the well wishes!

Thanks for the update and good luck...let me know if they think it's an ACL tear and you need surgery - I've been through two of those too! Lucky me.

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive."
Bentley (5.24.04 - 6.26.10) & Linus (1.10.06 - 7.31.13)